Hendersonville tn dentist Scott Harbin D.D.S.

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dentistry

What Is A Root Canal?

Recently, has your dentist informed you that you need root canal treatment? Is so you are not alone. Millions of teeth are treated and saved each year with root canal or endodontic treatment. Root canals can relieve your tooth pain and save your smile. A dentist can treat the inside of the tooth, and this is necessary when the pulp inside the tooth becomes inflamed or infected. The inflamed or infection can have a variety of causes; deep decay, repeated dental procedures on the tooth, faulty crowns, or a crack or chip in the tooth.

How Root Canal Treatment Save a Tooth?

During root canal treatment the infected pulp is removed and the inside of the tooth is carefully cleaned and disinfected, and then filled and sealed with a rubber like material. Afterwards the tooth is restored with a crown or filling for protection. After restoration the tooth will continue to function like any other tooth.

What Is the Right Way To Floss?

Proper flossing removes plaque and food particles in places where a toothbrush cannot easily reach under the gum line and in between the teeth. Plaque can build up and lead to tooth decay and gum disease, daily flossing is highly recommended. You need to start with about eighteen inches of floss, wind most of the floss around both middle fingers leaving at least an inch or two of floss to work with. While holding the floss between your thumbs and index finger, slide it gently up and down between your teeth. Never snap or force the floss, this can bruise or cut delicate gum tissue. Ensure you are using clean sections of floss as you move from tooth to tooth.

What Types of Floss Should I Use?

Nylon floss is available waxed or unwaxed, and in a variety of flavors. This floss may sometimes shred or tear especially between teeth with tight contact points. While PTFE floss slides easily between teeth, even those with tight spaces between teeth, and is virtually shred-resistant. When used properly, both types of floss are excellent at removing plaque and debris.

It Takes More Than Just Brushing

OK so you know about brushing and flossing. There are other steps you should take if you want to keep your teeth for a lifetime. Some people assume they will lose their teeth as they age. That doesn’t have to happen! Below are some suggestions for you in order to achieve a healthy mouth that last a lifetime.

Eight Steps to Dental Health

Understand your own oral health needs- Some medications, including more than 300 common drugs can reduce the amount of saliva in your mouth, resulting in dry mouth. Woman who are pregnant often go through oral changes. Patients with asthma often breath through their mouth, which in turn can result in dry mouth and increased plaque. People with braces often have difficulty cleaning their teeth and develop more plaque.

Commit to a daily oral health routine- Talk to your dentist or dental hygienist about your oral health practices. Based on your discussion come up with an effective plan or routine.

Use fluoride products- Everyone can benefit from fluoride not just children. Fluoride strengthens developing teeth in children. It also helps prevent decay in children and adults.

Brush and floss to remove plaque- Everyone should brush at least twice a day. In addition, you should at least floss once a day. These activities remove plaque, which is a complex mass of bacteria that constantly forms on your teeth.

Limit snacks, and eat a balanced diet- Every time you eat bits of food become lodged in and around your teeth. This food provides fuel for the bacteria in plaque. This occurs more often when eating snacks and food stays on your teeth for a while.

If you use tobacco in any form, quit- Smoking or using smokeless tobacco increases your risk in oral cancer and gingivitis, periodontal disease and tooth decay. Using tobacco also contributes to bad breath and stains your teeth.

Examine your mouth regularly- Your dentist and hygienist see you only a few times a year, but you can examine your mouth weekly to look for changes that might be of concern.

Visit the dentist office regularly- Discuss with your dentist how often you should be seen. If you are on medications, a diabetic or prone to cavities he/she may suggest you visit the dentist more often than just a couple of times a year.

I am super excited about this. Yesterday I saw a friend who had a root canal recently. 3 years ago it was a small cavity. We are becoming much more passionate about dental prevention, about patient education and early dental treatment!

I fully believe that every root canal I do, is the product of me not getting a sealant on that tooth 5 years ago, or us not communicating to you how important flossing is.

I would much rather educate someone on how destructive sodas are, than do a root canal and crown. These procedures take away most of your tooth, and nothing is as good as what God gave us. Just a few things we are excited about around here. Click here for more info.

Tooth & Gums Tonic is a professional strength formula from the Dental Herb Company that use truly natural ingredients. Tooth & Gums Tonic is alcohol free, made without chemicals, and it is also non-staining.

Tooth & Gums Tonic is formulated to reduce oral bacteria.

The truly natural tonic contains precisely calculated proportions of pure essential oils that work synergistically with extracts of organically grown herbs to maintain healthy teeth and gums and freshen breath.

The architect has done the main drawings for the new section of the dental office. We are increasing our size by over 50%. This will allow us to bring in another Dr. and to offer more services, letting us serve our patients better. This will allow us to continue to except walk ins, by giving us more space.

We never want to turn anyone in tooth pain away, and this will help out a lot.

The office will probably not even have to close during the renovation, and we hope that the process will be finished 30 days after they start. Hope everyone has a great weekend. Click here for more info on our office

In our office, we charge a flat $299.00 for the DASH whitening and $425.00 for our ZOOM whitening.

Other than the price, clinically there are a couple of differences between the two.

Another difference is the time in the chair that you spend. When doing the ZOOM treatment, you are in the dental chair for about two hours. The DASH whitening is almost half of that time. Depending on the patient, DASH can take anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes.

The ZOOM whitening uses a light during the procedure, where as the DASH whitening uses a stronger bleach than the ZOOM.